An In-Depth Look at the iPhone X’s Face ID

Last week’s unveiling of the 10th anniversary iPhone X model was definitely one of the most anticipated Apple product launches of recent memory.

Apple did not disappoint thankfully, and we were all given our first glimpse at what’s shaping up to be the most exciting iPhone since the original went on sale ten years ago.

One of the most intriguing pieces of new technology featuring in the iPhone X is of course the Face ID facial recognition scanner.

Billed as the successor to the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, Face ID is the iPhone X’s standard security measure and one that is reportedly more secure than passcodes, passwords and fingerprint scanning.

New owners will be asked to scan their face when they start up their iPhone X for the first time, which will be saved as the ‘key’ to the security lock.

After this, owners simply have to look at the iPhone X’s front camera to unlock their device, a process Apple says takes but a moment to complete.

There have been concerns Face ID could be fooled in the future by photographs and masks while others have wondered if the scanning technology would recognise changes to the owner’s appearance, such as a new hairstyle or a beard.

Apple quashed these concerns however, revealing that the iPhone X’s 30,000 infrared dot scanners, A11 bionic processor and TrueDepth camera makes it essentially impossible to spoof the Face ID into unlocking the device for someone else.

Similarly, the technology adapts to facial changes as they occur, and uses the initial scan of the structure of your face as the base image while adding new changes e.g. glasses or a new haircut.

It is possible to re-scan your face if you need a new Face ID identification scan, but this will likely be done only if the user has significantly altered the structure of their face.

Biometric technology like Apple’s Face ID facial recognition has been long featured as a staple of science fiction and it’s very exciting to finally see this technology make its way into real life.